


Skip a Heartbeat

by BlondieSundae



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Highschool AU, Junkrat's Potty Mouth, Meihem - Freeform, a bit of cyborgbunny, author is shipping trash, junkmei, junkrat x mei, mei x junkrat, meirat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-09 07:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12271749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlondieSundae/pseuds/BlondieSundae
Summary: Mei starts at Overwatch Academy and meets some new friends, she also meets a unkempt troublemaker named Jamison Fawkes. Jamison takes an interest in her, and they both seem to keep meeting randomly. Both have unexplained feelings and both are intrigued by the other. A highschool AU, please excuse my crappy summary. I'm really garbage at them.





	1. Prologue

“New school, new you.” Mei thought, exhaling quietly in an almost meditative way. The short girl attempted to straighten her back and square her jaw, but imagined she looked infinitely sillier than how she already felt doing it. Doing a final adjustment of her hair pin, she started to walk in to the school.  
  
Now starting at a new school might not seem that odd of a thing in a teenage girls life, but Mei wasn't exactly the most normal girl. She had lived most of her life up in Alaska in remote Arctic wilderness with her scientist parents who studied the nearly untouched ecosystem that existed there. From the tender age of five she had been home schooled and the wilderness was her classroom. Her closest experience to school was a VHS box set of _Saved By The Bell_ that she had watched until a few of the tapes had sadly spit out their entire contents in defeat.

Although she had never set foot in a normal classroom, Mei was excited to spend time with people her own age. The closest she came to that in Alaska was a family of native people with a couple children who only spent a few months out of the year near her family and mostly traveled over to trade supplies. Instead of spending time with other kids, she mostly buried her nose in her books and studies, finding the best way to past the long days was with a good story. A lot of those stories had a protagonist who went to a normal school with normal friends in which Mei would live vicariously through their story, but now she could actually live her own high school story. The prospect of such thrilled, and terrified, her.

The imposing Overwatch Academy loomed in front of her, austere in its appearance against the bright, blue sky. It was almost a month ago when her parents came to her with the news.  
  
“Mei honey, we have something we want to tell you.” Mei was sitting down in their cabin, snow falling gently as she nibbled on a roll.  
  
“Yes, mother?” She asked, half paying attention as she was fully engrossed in a new book.

Before her mother could finish, her father jumped in excitedly. “We're moving to the mainland!”  
  
'Thump' The roll fell to the ground, rolling to a stop under the table. “What?” Mei stuttered, unsure if she heard her father correctly.

“We've decided that it would be best for you to go to high school and socialize with people your own age.” Mei's mother continued, shuffling through some papers on her desk as if she hadn't just dropped an atomic bomb on her daughter.

Mei's father waved a hand in front of her face, “Uh, I think you broke our daughter dear...”

“The one who broke our daughter was most definitely you.” Her mother laughed. “Mei honey, could you set the table, dinner is almost ready."

The last four weeks were a flurry of moving, getting settled and shopping for school supplies and clothing to fit the new climate.Her old life was now a memory and of course, with the prospect of finally making friends Mei was more than happy to make the change, but for some reason she found herself hesitating before the large double doors, hand outstretched to reach for the handle.  
  
“Oi, lemme go Mako!”

Mei's attention was suddenly stolen by the sight of a giant of a man carrying another by the scruff, completely ignoring how he thrashed about like an angry weasel. The boy being carried didn't take too kindly to this, and his amber eyes flashed with rage.  
  
“Put me down ya bastard!” The blonde boy screeched, arms flailing out in wild attempts to hit the other, much larger, much quieter boy. Mako decided to try and place him down on the ground, but as soon as Jamison's feet touched the concrete he tried to break away and make a run for it. Grumbling, Mako lifted him again, already growing tired of this game. Finally the younger man calmed down enough where Mako no longer felt he was going to hurt himself and he lowered him to the ground, still maintaining a tight grip on his shirt.

Without a word, Mako stared in to Jamison's eyes, communicating something without even opening his mouth. This, however, displeased the wiry fellow causing him to pout. “I know ya promised me mum ya'd make me go to school....” There was a but coming, Mako knew it, “But I hate this place! Buncha' whackas-”  
  
“Jamison...” Mako's voice rumbled, warning.

The smaller boy froze, knowing that Mako was in no mood to be argued with. The ham sized fist didn't move from it's place on the scruff of Jamison's tank top, frog marching the scrawny boy forward with little effort.  
  
“Awright, awright, awright!” He hissed, trying to slap the hand away, “Ya going to ruin what little of my shirt I have left!”

Satisfied that his friend would no longer try to escape, Mako removed his hand and gave him a light pat on the shoulder, drawing some ire from his pal. Jamison wasn't exactly willing, but he decided obeying his wall sized friend was better than getting carried in kicking and screaming like a toddler, besides, he could always just cut class when Mako disappeared and reconvene at lunch.  
  
Mako knew he couldn't really make Jamison attend, but hopefully dragging him here every day would break his spirit a little. “I'm heading to class now... you'd do best to go as well.” Mako's gravelly voiced raked out. And with one last hard look, he turned and disappeared down the hallway.

Outside, Mei seemed to give pause before she followed them in, not wanting to disturb whatever it was they were doing. They certainly looked like an intimidating pair and Mei didn't want to start her school career tangling with a couple of rough looking individuals who seemed to be rough housing.

Turning back to to her own thoughts she took in a deep breath and coached herself. “C'mon Mei, you can do this, you've been waiting your whole life for this!” But the nagging feeling of doubt hovered at the back of her mind and she started to go over all the worst case scenarios that could possibly happen on her introductory day. As Mei tried to logically walk her way through every scenario her brain created she was suddenly startled by a loud ringing.  
  
The bell that signaled the start of the school day cut through Mei's thoughts and reminded the girl that she had been standing idly at the door for far longer than she intended. Her body suddenly kicked in to gear and she rushed through the doors, not paying attention to where she was going

As she burst through the door Mei didn't happen to notice someone else standing in the middle of the hallway and before she could come to a halt, her body collided with another.  
  
Waiting for his friends large silhouette to disappear, Jamison mentally cheered. He was home free now and all he had to do was make an appearance at lunch. Driving his hands deep in to his jean pockets he smirked and turned to head out.  
  
Or he was going to when a short, Asian looking girl crashed right in to him, knocking the wind out of his sails. The force of her body propelled him backwards, causing him to almost lose his balance. He sputtered, annoyed that someone would be so careless.  
  
  
“Lā shǐ!” She cursed.

  
“Oi! Watch where ya goin' ya drongo!” He exclaimed gruffly, accent thicker with the edge of annoyance.

“Ah! I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm so, so, sorry!” Mei cried, adjusting her glasses that had landed low on the bridge of her nose. As her vision came back in to focus, Mei stared up at the person she had crashed in to.  
  
He was tall, and dressed in rather ratty clothing that had various holes and burn marks. His hair was poorly groomed, sticking up at odd angles, and the faint smell of cigarette smoke came off him. His face seemed to be fixed in a scowl as he stared down at her, his bushy eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “Ya bloody should be sorry, chargin' around like ya own the joint.”

Mei found herself frowning, she had already apologized, why was this guy, this- _bully_ trying to intimidate her even more? Well this new school was promised a new Mei, so she was going to assert herself and not be pushed around.  
  
Puffing up her chest, Mei squared her shoulders and gave her most convincing determined face. “I already apologized to you, now you're just being rude! I admit I wasn't paying attention but it was only an accident.”  
  
The boy rolled his eyes, scoffing at her. “Whatever sheila.” He started to walk past her, flipping his hood up. For some reason, this really angered Mei, and what she said next surprised even herself.  
  
“I don't know who you think you are, but my name isn't Sheila it is Mei and you would do well to address me by my real name.” Her words had an edge to them which she had never heard before. As the words poured out of her mouth with startling speed, she only felt herself grow more agitated. “I have spent enough time standing here on my first day at this institution speaking with you and I am going to attend class, maybe you should consider doing the same then you might learn some manners!”

With a huff, Mei strode off, shoes clicking down the hall way towards her class. Even though it felt good to tell off that no good bully, her face burned a little from the interaction. As she scanned the hall, she located the correct class that was to be her new home room and pushed the altercation out of her mind. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to encounter that tall, scruffy boy again.

Jamison on the other hand, stood there a bit shell shocked. His face felt hot, and he couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or anger. Most people just avoided him or ignored him outright, aside from Mako, and this was normal for him. However this girl had just stood up to him and told him off.

Her face flashed through his mind again, round and soft with a tinge of pink to the cheek, dark brown eyes with a fire lit behind them, chestnut hair wrapped in a bun high on her head. The memory refused to leave and he felt his face flush even more.

This girl just lit a blazing fire of curiosity in Jamison Fawkes and he felt his body following in the direction she left down the hallway. He'd be damned if he let the chance go to find out what this Mei was all about, even if it meant spending time in a classroom all day. Shuffling down the hall at a leisurely pace he continued to think about how she had just chewed him out and hoped that perhaps he'd see her again.


	2. Chapter 1- New Friends

A stern looking man stood at the front of the room, Mei was almost afraid he was going to get angry with her for being late, but he was surprisingly unfazed by it and just asked her not to do it again. Maybe it was because the teacher, she now knew him as Mr. Reyes, had head about her situation and was being lenient. 

“Alright class, it seems we have some new blood here with us today. Please introduce yourself Miss-” He said gesturing to Mei as he addressed the students before him. 

“Ah, Mei Ling Zhou,” she jumped in, “My name is Mei Ling, but you can just call me Mei for short.”

“Miss Zhou, thank you. Since you are new here I'm going to assign you another student as a guide to show you what Overwatch Academy has to offer.” Mr. Reyes said, looking at his roster of students and glancing around the room. “Do we have any volunteers?”

Before he could even finish his question, a hand shot up in to the air, the girl it belonged to almost leaping from her seat in excitement. 

“Oh! Mr. Reyes please! Pick me, pick me ohhhh, I wanna be Mei's guide!” The girl's hand quivered, and Mei could see the barely contained eagerness on her face. Her voice rang with an accent through the room and her face beamed at the teacher.

Mr. Reyes sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Anyone.... does anyone want to volunteer at all?”

Everyone else remained silent, save for the tall, slim girl who was practically waving her hand. “Aw, c'mon teach lemme do it pleaaaaaase!” 

With a heavy sigh the teacher relented and waved his hand at the enthusiastic student. “Fine, Oxton you can lead Miss Zhou around. Now just, sit back down and try to keep the excitement to a minimum.”

'Oxton' as the teacher referred to her gave a little clap of her hands and sat back in her chair, having actually stood up in her efforts to be chosen. “Thanks teach! You won't regret it, you either Mei!”

Mei smiled her first genuine smile since setting foot in the building, this Oxton girl seemed kind and genuine and it gave Mei a small confidence boost to be able to walk around with her and get to know the facility. 

“Miss Zhou, take a seat please for homeroom announcements.” 

As Mei started to advance towards the seats she noticed the seat next to Oxton was open and she was beckoning her over in a not too subtle fashion.

“Psst, Mei, come sit by me!” She said in a whisper that could only be considered quiet by someone who was hard of hearing. Her hand patted the seat to her left fervently as her other hand continued to wave her over. 

Mei nervously advanced and placed her belongings on the floor by the open seat, “Thank you, uhm....”

“Oh, right! Call me Lena love. We're gonna get along right as rain, I can't wait to show you around during our free period, you're gonna love it here!” Lena gave another big smile and shook Mei's outstretched hand vigorously. Her grip was firm and her smile jovial, as she shook Mei's hand a lock of her brown hair fell in to her eyes. Her eyebrows knit together and she casually blew it out of her face with a giggle. Just then, the door being swung open roughly caught both the girls attention. The color drained from Mei's already pale face, she immediately recognized the person who had just barged in. 

The teacher seemed perturbed, but not surprised. “Nice of you to join us Mr. Fawkes... for once.” 

“Yea, yea,” Jamison grunted, walking straight past Mei, and to the back of the room. He dumped his bag on the floor next to a desk in the far corner and leaned back in the chair, propping his legs up on the desk. 

Seemingly unconcerned by Jamison's lack of respect, Mr. Reyes went back to typing at the computer on his desk. Mei, however, was immediately annoyed. She whipped around in her seat and glared at him. At first he paid her no mind, staring out the window with a blank expression. Slowly he turned his face to look at her and a large grin spread across his angular, freckled face. 

“Hey again, sheila.” Jamison looked positively deranged, his grin almost Cheshire cat-like in it's madness. Mei felt the hair on her neck stand on end as he continued to grin at her. 

She quickly went back to facing the front of the class, her cheeks tinged pink from the annoying boy and his stupid grin. Mei cleared her throat and addressed Lena. “So... what exactly is up with uhm,” Mei didn't directly address him, or point, she just inclined her head in the blonde boy's direction.

Lena raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the gaunt figure, who had taken out a pocket knife and started to carved in to the desk, and shrugged. “Oh, Jamison? I'm afraid I can't tell you much love, just that he keeps to himself and only really hangs out with Mako. I'm honestly surprised he's here at all, he didn't attend much last year and almost got kicked out. Principal Winston let him stay though, he's a nice fellow and believes everyone deserves second chances.” 

'A troublemaker.... just as I thought.” Mei thought, hazarding another look at the boy, whose name she just learned, and saw him picking under his black painted nails with the pocket knife he produced. 

“Anyway,” Lena's voice cut through her thoughts, causing her to turn back to her new friend. “Lemme see your schedule, I want to see how many classes we have together!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“And that concludes my opening lecture on 18th century European poetry,” The giant, yet kind Mr. Reinhardt closed the book on his desk with one large hand. Mei had only just met him and the passion he had for the written word was extremely apparent. His warm, baritone voice recited the lines as if they were something he had written himself and not just read from a book moments ago. 

“You may all head off to lunch, but don't forget you need to bring in a poem of your choosing from an 18th century poet and dissect the meaning of it. I look forward to your interpretations!” With a wave of his hand Mr. Reinhardt dismissed the class and set to erasing the chalk board the he nearly eclipsed with his broad shoulders. 

Pulling out her planner with a cute panda on the front, she wrote a note for herself about tonight's homework and packed it away in her backpack. After she made sure she had everything Mei made her way to the cafeteria where Lena said she'd be waiting. After comparing schedules they happened to have quite a few classes together, including their study period, which made Mei feel a lot better. Following the flow of the other student bodies she made her way to the large lunch room and immediately scanned it for the tall brunette. 

As soon as she stepped in to the cafeteria she saw Lena standing at a table and waving her hands in an attempt to get Mei's attention. Honestly it happened to grab most people's attention, but it did the job and Mei made her way over to Lena.

“Mei! How was third period?” Lena asked enthusiastically, moving her bag from the seat she was saved for Mei.

The shorter girl sat and placed her lunch bag on the table, “Oh it was enlightening! I never knew poetry could be so intricate and the imagery so vivid. It helps that Mr. Reinhardt seems to really love talking about it.”

Lena grinned, opening up a brown paper bag and pulling out a sandwich. “He's a great teacher, honestly they all are! You're really gonna love it here I think.” As they started to go back and forth about their recent classes and the assignments they were given a dark skinned boy with dread locks and a pair of headphones on bounded over to them.

“Yo! Lena, I got my knew track for you to listen to, as promised!” He held up his phone before noticing there was someone else at the table. “Well hello, hello!”

Mei smiled and gave a little wave, the boy plopped down in a seat across from Lena and she could hear a music playing from the headphones he had placed around his neck. His dreads were pulled back in a ponytail, keeping them out of the way of his eyes that reminded Mei of cocoa. 

“Oh where are my manners, Mei this is Lucio, Lucio, Mei.” Lena gestured to them as she introduced the two, “Lucio makes his own music, he's a really talented fellow!”

His hand went up to rub behind his head in a bashful manner, a hard to notice flush forming on his face. “Lena you're too kind, I just like to mess around with sounds on my mixer.” 

“And you're too modest! Really Mei you should give his stuff a listen.” Lena said, “Oh, also have you seen Hana? She said she'd be here.”  
Lucio shrugged, opening a soda and taking a sip. “Nah, I bet she's off playing games with Genji on her portable. Those two keep trying to one up each others scores.”

Lena chuckled, and started to dig in to her salad. After Lucio showed up, they all continued to have amicable conversation and talked about various topics. Lucio had mentioned he made his own music, but he also DJ-ed for the occasional party. Mei learned that Lena also happened to be Captain of the track team and belonged to various clubs. For once, Mei felt like a completely normal teen, eating a bagged lunch with friends as they chatted about their lives. To most it would seem utterly mundane, but to Mei it was wonderful.  
“Hey Mei do you remember what the homework assignment was going to be for maths class? I was kinda zoning out...” Lena gave a sheepish grin at her admission.

“Of course!” Mei started to dig in her bag for her panda planner. “Wait...” She dug harder, pushing her folders aside and pulling some books out. “Oh no, I must have dropped my planner. Lemme get back to you on that I have to find it!” She placed everything back inside her pack and slung it over her shoulder. “I'll meet up with you later.”

Her new friends seemed to look concerned. “Do you need any help searching, love?” 

Mei waved them off and smiled, shaking her head, causing the charm in her hair stick to jingle. “No, no I'm sure I just dropped it in the hall, you guys finish up lunch. Thanks for offering.”

After convincing them a second time not to worry, Mei set off and started to retrace her steps. She glanced along the hallway, up and down, along the lockers on one side, and started to back track to her English classroom. Once last check in the hallway around the classroom door came up empty so she decided the last place she could check was in the room itself.

As she pushed open the door Mei thought she heard a noise from inside. Her fingers curled around the edge of the door and she peeked in, trying not to make unnecessary noise so as not to disturb whomever it was. Almost instantly her nose was assaulted by the sharp, acrid smell of smoke. Mei's brain went in to panic mode, automatically associating the smell with fire. 

Bursting through the door with alarming agility, Mei's head whipped from side to side, trying to find the source of the fire. In the corner of the room by an open window was Jamison, lounging contently with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He happened to be staring at her with a confused look upon his face, and he plucked the offending cig from his lips.

“Oi, you alright sheila? You look a lil pale.” He placed the cigarette back between his lips and took a long drag, blowing the smoke out the window to the best of his ability. 

Almost immediately Mei felt her face flush with anger, her eyebrows lowering in to a look of disgust. “What do you think you are doing!” She cried and stomped over to him. “Put that thing out right this instant!”  
Jamison frowned and flicked the ashes out the window. “Now why would I do that? I needed a ciggy break and this is the only time I get a chance to.” He took another deep drag, and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. “Sides, I'm not hurting anyone.”  
If looks could kill Jamison was sure he's be stone cold dead by now, the girls pretty face was contorted in to a look that would terrify even the toughest of men. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, unsure what she was thinking in that lovely head of hers. 'Darn, what was her name again?' Jamie thought, his eyes searching her, looking for a clue.

He couldn't remember, but buried in her mahogany colored hair was an ornamental hair piece with a snowflake on the top. For some reason, Jamie really felt that nickname suited her. She was pretty as one, and also kind of cold to him. And just like the glaciers in the Arctic, she was unbreakable.  
He stubbed the cigarette out on the brick side of the building, “Ok snowflake, settle down. I'll put this out.”

“Snowflake?” Her voice jumped, “Why can't you just call me by my name?” Her rosy lips pouted slightly, annoyed with his constant disregard for propriety.

Jamison shrugged, “I thought it was a cute nickname for a cute girl.”

At the word 'cute' Mei's face turned several shades darker, “I-I think it's simply because you forgot my name!” She stammered.  
He smiled a crooked smile, “Ah, you see right through me snowflake...”  
It took everything in Mei's power to stop from stomping her foot as she spoke, “My name is Mei! And I should report you for smoking on school grounds! Not only is it a fire hazard, it's bad for your health and everyone else's, it destroys the environments, not to mention animals tend to eat the butts and get really, really sick! It's a disgusting habit!”

She started to advance on Jamie, finger jabbing him in the chest to punctuate the words she felt drove her point home. He started to hold his hands up in surrender, trying to block himself from the tiny girl's onslaught. He'd been in scraps before and never even flinched, but every time this adorable, diminutive creature poked him, Jamie felt himself recoiling as if he'd been stung. 

“Oi, oi, Snowflake! Truce, truce!” He cried, hands splayed out and trying to block her finger from making anymore contact. “I'll do anything ya want darl, just please don't report me. Mako'll kill me if I get another suspension. I promise, just ask ole Jamie and he'll do it for ya.”

Mei arched an eyebrow, a suspicious look on her face. Her eyes searched Jamison's angular face for some kind of lie or trick, but overall plea seemed sincere. He had a lopsided grin on his face, amber eyes seeming to beg her. 

“Please?” 

Inside Mei's chest there was a small hiccup, like her heart flipping in response to his gentle entreaty. A small blush bloomed on the apple's of her cheeks, and her gaze averted from his immediately. She could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage, causing Mei to stuttered the next line. “I-I never want to see you with those disgusting things on campus every again! Y-You shouldn't even have them to begin with, but at least don't smoke them here!”

Immediately Jamison looked relieved, “Thanks Snowflake, I knew I could trust ya not to rat me out. I owe you one!”  
She waved him off, not wanting his favor, just wanting him to be respectful. “No need, I won't take your favor.” Almost immediately Mei remembered why she had come to this room in the first place and made a bee line for her desk. “Ah, my planner, I almost forgot!”

However, her planner was no where to be found in the desk. She checked around it, on the floor, in other desks, even on the teachers desk in case someone found it and left it there, there was no sign of the little panda planner.

“Gāisǐ! This is no good...” Mei muttered to herself as she continued to search. 

Jamison raised an eyebrow, rising from his reclined position. He took a moment to stretch and asked, “Whatcha lookin' for Snowflake?”

“For the last time it's Mei, and I doubt you've seen it...” She said, looking under the chair and desk.

“Try me,” a cocksure grin on his face.

An annoyed sign escaped her lips, “It's a little planner, about this big with a panda on it and a polka dot background-”

Before she could finish describing it, the little book was dropped on the desk in front of her with a small 'thunk'. Mei stared at it for a second and whirled around to face the messy looking boy, his grin only grew.

“How long have you had this?” She demanded, scooping up her precious planner, “Did you take this?”

Jamison's grin faltered, turning in to a sour look. “Now hold on just a goddamn second. I did not take ya stupid planner I found it when I came in for my ciggy. I was gonna give it to Mako because I figured someone wouldn't miss it if they left it here!”

“Didn't you ever consider the lost and found?” Mei fumed, “That someone just dropped it and was coming to look for it later when they realized they lost it?”

“I gave it back didn't I? I'm not complete scum, as much as you refuse to believe it.” Now Jamie was getting annoyed with this girl again, insinuating he was a thief. He just happened upon the little notebook and thought his friend might like it, if someone came looking for it he was going to give it back...maybe.

After his retaliation Mei's face felt a little hot, this time from embarrassment. She realized she struck a nerve with Jamison and perhaps felt a twinge of guilt for outright accusing him of stealing when he just happened to find something that was lost. Hugging the planner to her chest she lowered her gaze to the floor, ashamed of herself for being so quick to jump to conclusions. With a quick turn on her heel Mei started to exit the room, but before she did she tossed back, “Xièxiè, thank you Jamison...,” and ran out before she could say anything else.

The deliquent boy was left alone, questioning what exactly happened and why this girl intrigued him so much. One minute she was yelling at him, the next she was demure and thanking him. “One heck of a mystery that one,” he murmured, his grin returning to his face.

A mystery he would enjoy picking apart.


End file.
